Setting vision for a technical team
Your vision done right can bring people together
Most organisations have a mission and vision statement. Some can be long and in depth, others may be one word.
This is not about that big organisation vision though. This is about a smaller team or project vision, getting a team aligned, making the people involved feel a part of something and keeping you on track with what matters.
Vision
Imagine you are setting off on a journey, you know where you want to go. For your weekend family camping trip, you choose a location, pack your car up, book a cat sitter and head off into the wilderness.
More than a location
Vision is not just about location though, a location has no feeling. Personally, I want a family camping trip to be “an adventure that brings together the family for a fun time”. Now, that’s more visionary, you can work with that. I could call my brother up, tell him I want an adventure that brings the family together — he goes away and comes up with an all inclusive wilderness safari. Thing is, it’s still an adventure and we will definitely have fun. So vision accomplished?
My brother had all he needed to get something sorted and could use all his imagination and skills to bring the vision to life. Imagine the people involved with your projects doing the same!
Daily decision making
Personally I believe a vision should be quick and easy to remember and resonate with people. It can help with decision making on a day to day basis “if I take this step will it help me get one step closer to the end goal”.
Some things to consider
- Vision is something that works best when everyone is bought in, so if you have a team vision it needs to align, in some way, to your organisation vision.
- You will have an idea where you envision your team but it’s worth engage the team and stakeholders — I find this helps with buy in.
- Lead from the front. It’s not always easy, but you must live and breathe the vision you create.
- Once you have you have your vision. Get it out there, use it daily to inform decision and vocalise it with your team.
